Third-party candidates lost in federal appeals court as the D.C. Circuit ruled that their First Amendment rights had not been violated during the 2012 presidential race when they were denied participation in the presidential debates. Since the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates operated the debates, the court wrote that if they were forced to include particular candidates, it could be reasonably argued that it would violate the commission’s First Amendment rights. (The Hill, August 29, 2017, by Megan R. Wilson)
The court said the Libertarian and Green party candidates had not made their First Amendment case in that there was no mention of government action, a clear legal claim or identifiable injury. (Constitutional Law Prof Blog, August 30, 2017, by Steven D. Schwinn)